I.t. Career Energizer: Phil Burgess Chats With Robert C Martin, John Sonmez, David Rael And Other Successful It Professionals

In this week’s show, Phil talks to Camille Fournier, an engineering executive, author of the books “The Manager’s Path” and “97 Things Every Engineering Manager Should Know.” She began her career with Microsoft in 2001 as a Software Design Engineer and by 2014 had been appointed Chief Technology Officer of Rent the Runway. She is now the Managing Director of Two Sigma, with responsibility for management and strategy. Camille talks about the value in becoming comfortable with the uncomfortable tasks that can energise our career paths. She also discusses why setting the right goals will lead to a more balanced life. Show notes can be found at https://itcareerenergizer.com/e291

In this week’s show, Phil talks to Matt Rosenthal, a technology and business strategist as well as the President & CEO of Mindcore, the leading IT solutions provider in New Jersey. He specialises in working with business owners and management to fix business processes and technology problems using his process mastery formula.   Matt talks about why it is crucial to put one’s ego aside in the world of IT, and how this can benefit you greatly. He also discusses why it’s crucial that we allow ourselves the room to pivot in our beliefs and ideas.   KEY TAKEAWAYS:   TOP CAREER TIP Put your ego aside. Often times, people in technical roles think that their level of expertise grants them the power to be right every time.   WORST CAREER MOMENT After fearing that he was about to lose a valued job, Matt quit the role which threatened his income and livelihood greatly   CAREER HIGHLIGHT Matt experiences his career highlight every time he helps someone to achieve something. This happens often, as Matt is often called

In this week’s show, Phil talks to Al Sweigart, a professional developer who teaches programming to kids and adults. As well as being a speaker at Python conferences, he has written several bestselling programming books for beginners, including ‘Automate the Boring Stuff with Python’, ‘Invent Your Own Computer Games with Python’, ‘Cracking Codes with Python’, and ‘Coding with Minecraft’. Al talks about the fact that many jobs are attainable, despite the job description and list of qualifications required. Never count yourself out of the race. He also discusses why coding itself can feel intimidating, but that it’s nothing to be feared. Show notes can be found at https://itcareerenergizer.com/e289

In this week’s show, Phil talks to Scott Turman, who has developed software and cryptographic systems over the last 25 years for some pretty big organisations such as NASA, Disney, Hilton and the US Department of Defence.   He is the founder of BrightRay Consulting which is a staffing and software solutions company that he formed 6 years ago.   Scott talks to Phil about making sure we achieve the worth for which we have worked by being as useful as possible and developing skills. He also discusses why we must gain mastery over our area of expertise.   KEY TAKEAWAYS:   TOP CAREER TIP Learn to be as useful as you can, and find an organization that will pay your fairly for the skills you can perform.   WORST CAREER MOMENT Scott was interviewed by someone he looked up to, and failed during the last stages of the interview. If successful, he would have gone to work for Microsoft.   CAREER HIGHLIGHT Scott achieved a position at NASA – his dream job. NASA’s legacy runs deep in Scott’s family, so to win a position th

In this week’s show, Phil talks to Jeff Wald, the founder of Work Market, an enterprise software platform that enables companies to manage freelancers. He has also founded several other technology companies including Spinback, a social media sharing platform. He is an active angel investor and start-up advisor, as well as serving on numerous public and private Boards of Directors. He is also the author of the Amazon Best Seller ‘The End of Jobs: The Rise of On-Demand Workers and Agile Corporations’. Jeff talks about the importance of resilience and why we must always push through the challenges we face. He also discusses the value of executing upon ideas, and the strength it takes in order to do so. Full show notes and links to related resources are available on the IT Career Energizer website - https://itcareerenergizer.com/e287

In this week’s show, Phil talks to Oscar Santolalla, the author of "Rock the Tech Stage" and "Create and Deliver a Killer Product Demo". After a decade and a half in the technology arena, he embarked on a mission to help people in technology companies present better, inspire others, and sell more.   Since 2014, he has been hosting the public speaking podcast Time to Shine, for which he has interviewed more than 150 communication professionals. He works as a sales engineer at Ubisecure. And was born and raised in Peru but now lives in Finland.   Oscar talks about why we should always seek to develop our skills and grow as professionals. He also discusses why storytelling can positively impact your career goals.   KEY TAKEAWAYS:   TOP CAREER TIP There is always room to develop your skills, and no matter which stage you are at, time should always be taken to develop and grow.   WORST CAREER MOMENT During an early presentation, Oscar found himself ill-prepared, and having to present on a subject of which he had n

In this week’s show, Phil talks to Mark Richards, an experienced, hands-on software architect involved in the architecture, design, and implementation of microservices architectures and other distributed systems in a variety of technologies.   He has been in the software industry since 1983 and is the author of numerous technical books and videos. He has also spoken at hundreds of conferences and user groups around the world on a variety of enterprise-related technical topics.   Mark talks about the value in developing people skills and what a difference they can make to the shape of your IT career. He also discusses why careful consideration should be employed when it comes to solutions, and why you should never be caught up in the hype of a popular methodology.   KEY TAKEAWAYS:   TOP CAREER TIP Soft skills matter in any role you perform. Never discount the value in people skills, which can make all the difference.   WORST CAREER MOMENT As a result of being abrasive in the workplace, several people left the

In this week’s show, Phil talks to Kelly Vaughn, a front end developer and founder of The Taproom, a Shopify Plus agency rooted in Atlanta. She and her team have helped hundreds of Shopify merchants build successful marketing strategies, map out customer journeys that convert and provide the insight, experience and tools businesses need to keep growing. She’s passionate about all things, ‘entrepreneurship’. Since building her first website for a client project at the age of 14, she has built up a strong customer base over the past 15 years and grew her solo freelance business from a team of one to an always-profitable team of ten in just one year. And when she’s not coding or co-hosting the Ladybug Podcast, you can find her traveling the world with her husband and sampling all the wine and whiskey she can get her hands on! Kelly talks about the importance of reaching out for help when we need it, and how it can positively impact our knowledge base. Kelly also discusses why it’s so important to keep a record o

In this week’s show, Phil talks to Mark Herschberg, who has spent his career launching and developing new ventures at startups, Fortune 500 companies, and in academia. He helped to start the Undergraduate Practice Opportunities Program, dubbed MIT’s “career success accelerator”. At Harvard Business School, he helped to create a platform used to teach finance at prominent business schools, and most recently, he has authored “The Career Toolkit – Essential Skills For Success That No One Taught You” Mark talks to Phil about the value to be found in incremental victories through small negotiations. He also discusses why we should all create a career plan as soon as possible. Full show notes and links to related resources are available on the IT Career Energizer website - https://itcareerenergizer.com/e283

Laura Berman Fortgang is recognised as a pioneer in the personal coaching field and part of the founding team of the International Coach Federation. She has brought coaching to NASA, Florida’s State Government and dozens of Fortune 500 companies. She has made appearances on Oprah, Good Morning America and CNN, amongst others, as well as publishing five best-selling books including ‘Now What? 90 Days to a New Life Direction’ and ‘The Little Book On Meaning’. And in 2015 she gave a TEDx talk titled ‘How to Find Your Dream Job Without Ever Looking at Your Resume’ which has been viewed more than 1.5 million times. Laura joins Phil to discuss why the roadmap to your future is never in your current resumè. Laura also talks about why we should trust our instincts when it comes to shaping our IT career. Full show notes and links to related resources are available on the IT Career Energizer website - https://itcareerenergizer.com/e282

Phil’s guest on today’s show is Shawn Livermore, a software engineer, a consultant, a software architect and a tech startup founder, managing to raise venture capital investment six times. He has also authored several books on software and business including the recently released ‘Average Joe: Be the Silicon Valley Tech Genius’. Shawn talks to Phil about why it’s important to choose carefully when applying to companies for work, and how career dreams can become horror stories if you aren’t careful. He also discusses the importance of having a pursuit, one that holds our passion and drives us onward. Full show notes and links to related resources are available on the IT Career Energizer website - https://itcareerenergizer.com/e281

Phil’s guest on today’s show is Raffi Jamgotchian, the founder of Triada Networks. He is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional and a member of both Infragard and the US Secret Service’s Joint Electronic Crimes Task Force.   Raffi talks to Phil about why starting at the bottom is a good thing for anyone new to the world of IT as it provides experience and knowledge.   He also discusses the value of staying curious and why without curiosity, we may sometimes stagnate.   KEY TAKEAWAYS:   TOP CAREER TIP Don’t ever be afraid to do the “unsexy” jobs. Starting in support or the equivalent is always a good place to start as it provides you with a broad range of experience and understanding.   WORST CAREER MOMENT Raffi gave notice at a job as he had received a verbal offer of a new one. However, he failed to get this offer in writing, and subsequently the new job fell through. Luckily it all worked out.   CAREER HIGHLIGHT After 9/11, Raffi oversaw a stringent series of systems and processes designed to

Phil’s guest on today’s show is Nigel Poulton, who does what he loves - playing with tech and teaching Kubernetes all around the world. He has trained well over 1 million people with Docker and Kubernetes.   He is also the author of Docker Deep Dive which was rated by Book Authority as the best ever book on Docker. And his latest book is The Kubernetes Book which is being updated a couple of times a year.   Nigel talks to Phil about why we must always seek to learn new things, and how this can keep us energised. He also discusses why today’s world is a golden age for technology and possibilities, and why we as IT professionals should be very excited.   KEY TAKEAWAYS:   TOP CAREER TIP Don’t ever be afraid to learn new things. Often, people are afraid to put themselves out there in case it’s too difficult, and they fail. Making mistakes is the only route to learning something.   WORST CAREER MOMENT Nigel took a job that was convenient, but not challenging. He soon learned that without the chance to be challenge

Phil’s guest on today’s show is Will Johnson, a developer, speaker, blogger and marketer who enjoys helping people reach their goals by using the power of social media. He is currently a Learner Advocate for Egghead.io and Presentation Director for Kansas City Women in Technology. Will discusses the importance of specialising in one specific area rather than diluting our skills by spreading them too thin. Will also talks about why it’s vital to build and nurture good working relationships, and how this can benefit your IT career. Full show notes and links to related resources are available on the IT Career Energizer website - https://itcareerenergizer.com/e278

Phil’s guest on today’s show is Jennifer Byrne, a former Chief Technical Officer for Microsoft US where she worked with companies and organisations across industries and market segments to re-frame their business opportunities in digital terms. She now advises start-ups and mentors young women and leaders on topics related to making the most of today’s fast-changing, tech-infused world. Jennifer joins the show to talk about why we should always recognize the unique value we bring to any given situation. Jennifer also discusses the importance of striking the right balance between learning about technology, and the world itself. Full show notes and links to related resources are available on the IT Career Energizer website - https://itcareerenergizer.com/e277  

Phil’s guest on today’s show is Jason Lengstorf, a principal developer experience engineer at Netlify and host of Learn With Jason, a live-streamed video show where he pair programs to learn something new in 90 minutes. He spends a lot of time telling people that the formula for success and happiness is to lift each other up and share what we learn. Jason joins Phil to talk about the importance of enjoying the work we do, and how this can breed creativity. He also discusses the importance of building up a team in favour of hoarding credit for achievement. Full show notes and links to related resources are available on the IT Career Energizer website - https://itcareerenergizer.com/e276

Phil’s guest on today’s show is Nicole Archambault, a web developer and educational technology entrepreneur. She creates online courses and coaches people who are teaching themselves how to code. She taught herself to program in 2015 using Treehouse, making a career change to an industry that she loves. Nicole talks about the importance of striking out on your own in brave ways and creating communities in IT. Nicole also discusses why it’s so important not to let your lack of educational qualifications stand in the way of your aspirations in IT. Full show notes and links to related resources are available on the IT Career Energizer website - https://itcareerenergizer.com

Phil’s guest on today’s show is Julian Sequeira, a Python coach and co-founder of PyBites, a platform that he and friend Bob Belderbos created to help others to learn Python. Julian currently works for Amazon Web Services where his responsibilities include running the AWS Data Centre Operations Trainee Program Julian joins Phil to discuss the importance of leaving your comfort zone and building your communication skills by involving yourself in as many things as possible without becoming overwhelmed. He also talks about why we should never be intimidated by job titles, and to remember that even those in positions of authority are people, too. Full show notes and links to related resources are available on the IT Career Energizer website - https://itcareerenergizer.com

Phil’s guest on today’s show is Ian Reynolds, a Partner and the Chief Solutions Architect at Zibtek, a software development company focused on helping businesses build custom software.   He has spent the better part of his career in consulting covering a diverse range of industries, including Finance, Oil & Gas and Healthcare. He now helps companies to solve their core business objectives with agile software development.   Ian talks about the importance of reading, and of constantly feeding your knowledge base. He also discusses the value of recognising your individuality, and always pushing yourself to see what you’re capable of.   KEY TAKEAWAYS:   TOP CAREER TIP You have to constantly read. Books should be your perennial companion. Reading leads to success. On average, the wealthiest Americans read 22 books per year.   WORST CAREER MOMENT In an early job, Ian encountered an employee with behavioral issues. Rather than confront the issue, Ian chose to leave the job – decision that has caused him regret e

Phil’s guest on today's show is Jeff Ton, a sought-after speaker, author and thought leader, having led powerful teams and built successful Information Technology departments for over 30 years.  His mission is to change the face of IT. And he says that, “Businesses today are demanding more from their technology and their technology leaders.” As well as being the author of Amplify Your Value (2018) and Amplify Your Job Search (2020), Jeff serves on numerous boards and advisory councils including Forbes Technology Council, Indy CIO Network, and Connected World Magazine Board of Advisors.  Jeff joins the show to discuss the importance of mastering the basic skills that are sometimes forgotten in favour of technical prowess. Jeff also highlights the belief that your passion can benefit your career path if you look for the opportunities to blend the two pursuits. Full show notes and links to related resources are available on the IT Career Energizer website - https://itcareerenergizer.com